Background

Objectives

ICT is one of five focus-groups established by STELLA. The objectives of this ICT focus-group workshop are to

explore the potential effects of ICT (information and communication technologies) on improvements or breakthroughs in transport systems
explore the ways in which ICTs are intersecting with new ways of living and working within metropolitan regions, creating a complex mix of travel substituting, enhancing and generating effects, with particular emphasis on behavioural and spatial aspects
compare findings in EU countries and North-American countries on the degree of substitutability between physical and non-physical transport, seen from a metropolitan perspective
mobilize high quality research potential which has a clear expertise at the intersection of ICT, innovation and modern transport systems, both from an engineering and a social science perspective
seek effective cooperation among European and North American transport researchers and policy analysts.
disseminate the findings on the intricate relationships of ICT and transport innovations to a wider international audience comprising both the research community and policy-making bodies
create a platform for exchange of information and knowledge on sustainable transport issues among European and North-American experts
generate opportunities for initiating joint research and for undertaking comparative investigations on the success and failure factors of policy
enhance efficiency in transportation research through a widening of the scope of the research and a critical examination of conventional policies.

Examples of themes that may be addressed in this focus-group workshop include:

Lifestyles, technologies and urban form
Teleworking and new ways of working more generally
Intersections between virtual communications and physical travel
Implications of e-commerce for retailing and distribution
Implications of ICTs for leisure travel
The travel and communications characteristics of knowledge-based clusters.
Intelligent transport systems, road transport informatics, etc

Rationale

Participants in this workshop are invited to view the documentation on STELLA and STAR (see below, Background documents). Excerpts from STELLA (below) outline the rationale for the ICT, Innovation and the Transport System focus group.

Focus

Drastic changes in modern technology, in particular in the information and communication technology (ICT) field, prompt many research and policy questions in the transport sector. This Focus Group seeks to perform a comparative North American and European analysis of the ways in which ICTs are intersecting with new ways of living and working within metropolitan regions, creating a complex mix of travel substituting, enhancing and generating effects. It will do so in collaboration with ATLANTIC, a new IST (Information Society Technologies) network addressing the Telematics and ITS community.

Context

A combination of high mobility lifestyles and the so-called ‘weightless economy’, within the context of rapid innovation in ICT networks and technologies, is leading to an increasingly significant role for ICTs in our living and working environment. The spatial context, within both Europe and North America, is one of metropolitan decentralisation, but the actual developments have evolved in different ways. Urban land use, industrial innovation and transportation have become mutually interacting forces.

Research questions

A vast amount of fascinating issues emerges in this context, in particular: What will be the implications of increasing deployment of ICTs in daily living and working for travel? How will these implications be differentiated according to differing technological pathways (e.g., Internet PCs, digital TV, mobile telephony)? How will the implications be differentiated according to different types of city, displaying differing levels of personal mobility and car dependency, and differing urban forms? What new spatial forms will emerge in association with the E-society, and what will be their travel characteristics and sustainability implications?

Nature of the ICT innovation and travel inter-relationships

ICT innovations are impacting in a number of domains of activity with differing travel implications:

work (examples being electronic homeworking, mobile working, spatially-dispersed team working), with both journeys to work and journeys in the course of work being affected by substitution, or enhancement or generation, in complex ways remaining to be empirically determined;
consumption (examples being e-commerce or teleshopping, telebanking, etc), with (some) journeys to consume being potentially substitutable by electronic means;
leisure – to what extent will leisure travel be substituted by ‘e-leisure’ activities undertaken from the home?
communication/social life – how are technologies such as the Internet and mobile telephony affecting social and community relationships, and with what implications for physical travel?

Justification for a Transatlantic thematic network

Rapid technological advances are being deployed in the very different urban and cultural contexts of North America, with widely varying existing travel and mobility characteristics; there is also some evidence, that different ICT-pathways are being developed, with Europe more advanced in mobile digital technologies. Contrasting developments and similarities in Europe and North America are not only a matter of different time paths, but also of varying lifestyles and different transport and land use policies.

Additional Background Documents

Position Statements

Position statements were sought from participants at the Introductory Meeting, January 2002.

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